“Courage” – that was Dan Rather’s final message to viewers Wednesday night after 24 years at the anchor desk of the CBS Evening News.

After moving through the majority of his final newscast with an air of professionalism and surprising control, Rather returned to using the single-word sign-off that had become emblematic of his sometimes eccentric and emotional anchor-desk demeanor.

Wednesday night, he seemed to be speaking in defiance of the many critics this week who denied him the accolades and kind words typically accorded previously departing anchormen such as NBC’s Tom Brokaw in November – or Walter Cronkite, whom Rather succeeded in 1981.

“Not long after I first came to the anchor chair, I briefly signed off using the word ‘Courage.’ I want to return to it now in a different way,” Rather said, setting up his final words in the broadcast, rated third in network news.

“To a nation still nursing a broken heart for what happened here in 2001, and especially for those who found themselves closest to the events of Sept. 11. To our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines in dangerous places. To those who have endured the tsunami, and to all who have suffered natural disasters and who must now find the will to rebuild. To the oppressed and to those whose lot it is to struggle in financial hardship or in failing health. To my fellow journalists in places where reporting the truth means risking all. And to each of you, courage. For the CBS Evening News, Dan Rather reporting. Good night.”

It was a litany that clearly showed the 73-year-old anchorman’s identification with people in danger, pain and suffering. But, beyond his reference to fellow journalists in harm’s way, there are sure to be questions as to why a man who reads the TV news each night thinks it is his role to be urging people with financial and health problems to be brave. Might not ministers, priests, rabbis and doctors be better suited for the job?

Rather, who decided to step down as anchor in the wake of a severely flawed “60 Minutes Wednesday” report on George W. Bush’s military record, did hit a note earlier that was more in keeping with the signoffs delivered by other retiring anchors over the years.

“We’ve shared a lot in the 24 years that we’ve been meeting here each evening, and before I say goodnight this night, I need to say thank you,” he said looking straight into the camera. “Thank you to the thousands of wonderful professionals at CBS News past and present with whom it’s been my honor to work over these years. And deeply felt thanks to all of you who have let us into your homes night after night. It has been a privilege, and one never taken lightly.”

Perhaps Rather should have ended it there Wednesday night, with a farewell that sounded as if he were taking the high road. But that would not have been the Dan Rather whom viewers came to know.

Give Dan Rather this: As strange or eccentric as the “courage” ending might have sounded, Rather went out Wednesday night staying true to himself.